Lorain County employees will have to wait to sign up for open enrollment until later this month after an amendment to legislation to correct a clerical issue caused turbulence at the commissioners meeting Dec. 1 resulting in a halt in the process.

On Nov. 17, the commissioners voted to go forward with updating the health insurance plan for approximately 2,000 employees.

However, the county administration found clerical errors in the resolution that detailed the Lorain County Health Care Plan premiums, which was passed as part of the Nov. 17 resolution.

The county administration, which has met at least three times with the unions representing the employees as well as those employees not represented by a union, asked the commissioners to pass an amendment to the resolution at the Dec. 1 meeting, which would’ve allowed employees to begin the process of enrolling into the plan of their choice.

One of the errors included the wrong premium cost and the actual cost was a decrease in several areas, said County Administrator Jeffrey Armbruster.

Another issue was a mathematical error where a penny needed to be rounded up, Armbruster said.

“The union representation has asked that we go with our open enrollment and to be able to go out for open enrollment,” he said. “We want to make sure what the county administration passed is absolutely correct, corrected by those pennies and by that reduction because we certainly don’t want to send out something that is incorrect.

“When that is changed, then we can go out with the open enrollment and get that process started, and that’s what the union representation wanted as quickly as possible.”

Commission Vice President Jeff Riddell, who sat in the president’s seat in Commission President David Moore’s absence, made a motion to vote on the amended resolution, but was met with strong opposition by Commissioner Michelle Hung.

Hung maintained that she preferred the plan have less of an increased cost to employees and she didn’t agree with the idea of correcting it even though it showed a significant decrease, because she felt the cost to employees was “actually a little more than excessive.”

“So I won’t be supporting this today,” she said.

“You do understand that this is just housekeeping,” Riddell told Hung.

“It doesn’t stop the mission,” he said. “All you’re doing is making it difficult for the employees to get involved with open enrollment.

“We’re only hurting our people and the township trustees and the other people that take insurance from our plan.”

Hung countered.

“We like to throw out that narrative and the talking points that quote Commissioner Hung is making it difficult,” she said. “Commission Hung will not be bullied.”

The motion to vote on the amended resolution failed for the lack of a second.

Reached via text message, Moore stated, “(Hung) is the biggest bully I have ever met! Her retaliation against those who oppose her or disagree is well recorded and has cost the county over $1 million. The fact that Jeff (Riddell) beat (former Commissioner Matt) Lundy was a way for voters to stop her and her destructive behavior.”

In response, also via text message, Hung stated, “I shared with many people since the beginning of 2023, my biggest fear was the irreversible harm Commissioners Moore and Riddell would do to the Lorain County Health Care Plan. The taxpayers can now plainly see Commissioners Moore and Riddell are solely responsible for the massacre of the Lorain County Health Care Plan. This was their decision and how they chose to govern, they own it.”

Open enrollment cannot go out now until Dec. 12; do you recognize that, Armbruster asked as the meeting continued.

“When the complaints come back that the administration did not send out, in a timely fashion, open enrollment, it’s because we can’t do it until a resolution is passed,” he said.

“Jeff, could you convey our regrets to the union representatives?” Riddell asked of Armbruster.

“I certainly will,” Armbruster responded.

The commission is scheduled to meet again Dec. 12 and 15.